The Cakes of Monte Cristo — Jacklyn Brady

In the fresh new Piece of Cake Mystery from the national bestselling author of Rebel Without a Cake, a pastry chef becomes embroiled in a suspicious death as a mysterious curse casts a pall over an annual New Orleans ball.

Rita Lucero, co-owner of New Orleans's Zydeco Cakes, is thrilled to be catering an annual ball held at the Monte Cristo Hotel. Designing the high-end desserts is her priority -- until she stumbles upon a mystery long-buried at her shop. It's an ornate ruby necklace, hidden underneath her staircase and rumored to be cursed.

After the gem's appraiser suddenly drops dead and Rita herself is targeted by a menacing stranger, she's no longer laughing at local superstition. Now with five cakes on order and an investigation into the necklace's past revealing layers of unsettling clues, Rita has reason to keep looking over her shoulder while she's frosting. Because any way you slice it, the next victim of the legendary curse could be her.